Vanished Islands in Vanuatu: New research and a preliminary geohazard assessment

Nunn, Patrick D.; Baniala, Mary; Harrison, M; Geraghty, Paul

doi:10.1080/03014223.2006.9517798

Cited by 15 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Geological information, however, is not the only source of palaeotsunami data. Geomorphological ), archaeological (McFadgen and Goff 2007) and anthropological (King et al 2007;Nunn et al 2006) data are also pertinent. This paper reports on the development of a comprehensive palaeotsunami database for New Zealand.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a palaeotsunami database for New Zealand

2009

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A New Zealand palaeotsunami database has been developed. The philosophy has been to include as much tsunami-related data as possible. Most of the events recorded are true palaeotsunamis that occurred prior to the historical record or have no written observations. Some are hybrids that are in some manner poorly recorded historical events. Data include physical evidence from geological, archaeological and geomorphological sources and cultural information from anthropological research and prehistorical Māori oral recordings. Each line of data represents a summary of one piece of evidence containing key details listed under a series of headings. The estimated veracity of each line item is based upon the sum of the information contained in the linked reference(s). The palaeotsunami database contains approximately 300 line items and describes between 35 and 40 palaeotsunamis. This wealth of data helps to improve our understanding of tsunami sources, event its magnitude and frequency.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a palaeotsunami database for New Zealand

2009

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“…Other examples come from the islands of Vanuatu where a number of traditions speak of islands that have disappeared yet whose former locations are well known and marked by shoals [43]. These include the islands of Malveveng and Tolamp, both off the northeast coast of Malakula Island.…”

Section: Myths Ignoring Subsidencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…All these former islands -Teonimanu, Malveveng and Tolamp -were reportedly inhabited, which is why their abrupt disappearance is so memorable in the oral traditions of the present inhabitants of nearby islands, and some accounts suggest they were bedrock islands (not of superficial composition) and reached more than 5 m above high-tide level [43]. All myths about their disappearance mention large waves and the likeliest interpretation of why these islands vanished is that an earthquake (series) triggered sea-floor collapse and associated island (coseismic) subsidence and (aseismic) slip which together caused the island to disappear beneath the ocean surface.…”

Section: Myths Ignoring Subsidencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Certain myths about islands that sank abruptly in western Pacific Island groups [43,44] contain elements consistent with rapid subsidence but are generally dominated by details concerning the (tsunami) waves that reportedly overran particular islands. Coseismic subsidence may be implicated in the destruction of Luondona-Wietrili Island (Timor) after myths tell how it (and the coasts of nearby islands) was repeatedly lashed by a giant sailfish (van Engelenhoven in [7]).…”

Section: Myths Recalling Rapid Coastal Submergencementioning

confidence: 99%

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Geohazards and myths: ancient memories of rapid coastal change in the Asia-Pacific region and their value to future adaptation

Nunn

2014

Geosci Lett

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Rapid coastal change is common in the Asia-Pacific region yet an understanding of its causes, recurrence times, and impacts is not always clear through the use of conventional geological methods. It is suggested that myths (traditional [oral] tales) are underutilized sources of information about coastal change in this region. This is illustrated by consideration of myths likely to recall (early) Holocene sea-level rise, particularly along the coasts of India and Australia, as well as myths recalling rapid episodic coastal emergence and submergence, the latter including the disappearance of entire landmasses (islands). Two examples of how details in such myths can inform geological understanding of coastal change are given. The first argues that myths recalling the rapid flooding of coastal cities/ lowlands are likely to represent memories of extreme wave events superimposed on a rising (postglacial) sea level. The second suggests that many myths about landmass/island disappearance fail to report the occurrence of rapid (coseismic and aseismic) subsidence even though they provide inferential evidence that this occurred. Few such myths are known to the author from many parts of Asia yet it is likely they exist and could, as elsewhere in the world, help illuminate the understanding of the nature and chronology of rapid coastal change. The challenges involved in helping communities in the Asia-Pacific region adapt to future coastal changes might be partly overcome by the use of appropriate myths to demonstrate precedents and engender local participation in adaptation strategies.

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“…Given the considerable uncertainty of this analysis, the differences in expected median PGAs such as the one obtained for Malekula (0.77 ) and the one obtained for Efate (0.65 ) might indicate a trend but are not significant. Nonetheless, it is interesting to note that Nunn et al (2006) also arrived at the conclusion that seismic hazard at Malekula might be elevated based on an analysis of oral traditions recalling the disappearance of islands. Although the seismicity is dominated by the subduction, there is no indication that proximity to the subduction zone is directly correlated with the level of seismic hazard.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Model for Vanuatu

Suckale

Grünthal

2009

Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America

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This study develops a preliminary probabilistic seismic hazard model for Vanuatu. The area of investigation, formerly referred to as the New Hebrides, lies in the center of a chain of partly vulcanologically active islands that mark the present-day boundary between the Australia-India plate and the microplate of the North Fiji basin. The seismicity of the Vanuatu arc is dominated by an east-dipping subduction zone, which shows striking structural anomalies in the central part between 14° and 18° S. Our historical catalog contains 7519 events within the Vanuatu region for the period from 1964 to 2003, drawn from the global teleseismic catalogs by the United States Geological Survey/National Earthquake Information Center (USGS/NEIC, see Data and Resources section) and Engdahl et al. (1998). As a measure of seismic hazard, we use horizontal peak ground acceleration (PGA) and horizontal spectral ground acceleration (SGA) at a period of 1 sec. The hazard estimates are based on a logic-tree approach to account for the epistemic uncertainties associated with our analysis. Our results suggest that the entire island arc experiences a high and uniform seismic hazard. Typical values for PGAs range from 0.65 to 0.77 with a 10% probability of exceedence in 50 yr. For Port Vila, the capital and largest city in Vanuatu, we additionally present a PGA hazard curve and a uniform hazard spectrum over the period range 0.1-2 sec.

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Vanished Islands in Vanuatu: New research and a preliminary geohazard assessment

Cited by 15 publications

References 20 publications

Development of a palaeotsunami database for New Zealand

Development of a palaeotsunami database for New Zealand

Geohazards and myths: ancient memories of rapid coastal change in the Asia-Pacific region and their value to future adaptation

Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Model for Vanuatu

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